Here are a few thoughts on Arafat and his death, in no particular order:

• For a man who was only 5'4", he left a huge footprint on the times he lived in.
• He should be buried in Jerusalem, as he said he wished to be. I know there is zero chance of this, because Israel insists they will not bury a terrorist in Jerusalem, but Sharon is just as much of a terrorist to the Palestinian people, and Arafat was the leader of the Palestinian movement from its inception. He was not a terrorist to them. It would cost Israel absolutely nothing to let him be buried in Jerusalem, and the respect of that gesture would pay off thousands of times over in the peace process. That is my view, anyway.
• I hope that the medical authorities continue to investigate what caused Arafat's health to plummet the way it did. For no apparent reason, he went from alert and relatively healthy to unconsciousness, kidney and liver failure, and finally a deepening coma before death. The whole thing strikes me as extremely bizarre.